On Sunday, the largest climate change march in history took place in cities around the world. But in the United States, coverage by the mainstream media was tepid.
On NBC Nightly News, before the climate change story, viewers sat through the lead story and what followed: Ray Rice/NFL re-writing personnel conduct policies but very few are satisfied, where's Hannah?/police publicly name a person of interest/"every parents' nightmare", bus flips/40 injured, manhunt for cop killer, ISIS/ the US launched more airstrikes against Iraq. Only then, UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon's "There is no plan B, because there is no Planet B" on the climate change crisis.
In the past year, NBC Nightly News has featured climate change stories frequently -- more along the lines of "the climate change car crash" or "global climate bus flips". So why does the biggest march in history, featuring people not corporations, get buried in the nightly news? The question answers itself.
At 6PM, CNN was worse. The news reader, an attractive brunette not blond, lead off with "5 Questions In The Week Ahead". Climate change, to be featured at the United Nations this week, didn't even make the list. Here's what did: will the world unite against ISIS? Will Obama launch air strikes against ISIS in Syria? Could ISIS release more hostages? Is the Secret Service falling down on the job? Will Ferguson return to the national spotlight?
The media is attracted to random violence like filings to a magnet. The largest climate change march in history? Not so much.
On NBC Nightly News, before the climate change story, viewers sat through the lead story and what followed: Ray Rice/NFL re-writing personnel conduct policies but very few are satisfied, where's Hannah?/police publicly name a person of interest/"every parents' nightmare", bus flips/40 injured, manhunt for cop killer, ISIS/ the US launched more airstrikes against Iraq. Only then, UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon's "There is no plan B, because there is no Planet B" on the climate change crisis.
In the past year, NBC Nightly News has featured climate change stories frequently -- more along the lines of "the climate change car crash" or "global climate bus flips". So why does the biggest march in history, featuring people not corporations, get buried in the nightly news? The question answers itself.
At 6PM, CNN was worse. The news reader, an attractive brunette not blond, lead off with "5 Questions In The Week Ahead". Climate change, to be featured at the United Nations this week, didn't even make the list. Here's what did: will the world unite against ISIS? Will Obama launch air strikes against ISIS in Syria? Could ISIS release more hostages? Is the Secret Service falling down on the job? Will Ferguson return to the national spotlight?
The media is attracted to random violence like filings to a magnet. The largest climate change march in history? Not so much.
8 comments:
It was amazing! Way bigger than we thought it would be. Amy Goodman covered it well.
Yeah I don't think that is coincidental. They clearly don't want to bite the hands that feed them and call themselves a news organization. They are a mouthpiece for the 1% is what they are.
It's Sunday, man. They're off on Sunday.
Rally in Miami: No TV news, just one guy with a camera. So I asked him "No reporter, just you?" "Yea." "Because it's Sunday? "Yea."
All I could spot from the Herald was one photog. We chatted about his camera gear.
Also organizers: March from Freedom Tower to empty Museum Park? "WTF?" asked many in the crowd.
Maybe because climate change is NOT as big of a threat or story as you think it is. Really lead with climate change over ISIS? And who really cares what the UN says or does - it's an organization that can't do anything.
Yes, Climate change got as much coverage as did Gay Games Nine got in Cleveland last month....Zero....Forget that the that the games have been out of the US for twelve years and that 8500 athletes participated from 60 countries.....Oh, NBR just reported in 20 seconds on the Wall Street Climate March location that the Rockerfeller foundatiojn is divesting of all carbon based companies. Steve Hagen
I am saddened for his son, who is autistic. Steve spends alot of time caring for him.
Life gets complicated and somehow shit happens.
Still buying into that man made global warming nonsense? LOL! Al Gore would be proud!
could u guys write another article about all the scientists that have got kicked off the sfwmd board in the past few decades? i feel its pertinent in theae times. love your info, great journalism
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